Sweet Dreams
by Circuit 347
Summary: Sally is involved in an accident involving the Master Emerald. Soon after, she discovers that she can now see into people's dreams... she just can't have her own anymore. But when Eggman discovers this, will he try to use it against Sonic and his friends? Sonally.
1. Shattered Emerald

"Sal, how much longer?"

"Sally, Sonic won't stop bugging me!"

"You're the one bugging me, busta!"

"Am not!"

Sally sighed and resisted the urge to strangle Sonic and Knuckles both. They had been at each other's throats for hours and seemed to keep bringing her into it when she was trying to work.

She was on Angel Island examining the Master Emerald because Knuckles reported that it was doing weird stuff like showing deep in it's hue what looked like dreams. The scene that tipped Knuckles off apparently was one where a teenage boy was naked at school and mortified.

The Master Emerald was also said to have been glowing at night and making weird humming noises.

Sally had taken crystal samples, examined the hue, measured, weighed, and done pretty much anything she could think of to identify a problem. Six hours and she had found absolutely nothing.

"Knuckles," Sally yelled over her shoulder. "If you were bluffing about the Master Emerald being on the fritz, I'll-"

"I'll handle it!" Sonic said rather eagerly. He proceeded to kick Knuckles... in between the legs.

"ARGH!" Knuckles yelped. He stumbled back and guarded his area. "Sonic, I'm gonna kill you!"

"I'd like to see you try,"

The blue hedgehog zipped off into the temple. Knuckles growled and began to chase him.

Sonic and Knuckles's friendship was a bit of a cycle. A hilarious one, in the opinion of all bystanders to witness it.

First, Sonic would say or do something obnoxious. Next, Knuckles would overreact, which usually involved violence. Then, the two would avoid each other for a short period of time (longest was two days so far). Finally, they would makeup and the cycle would start all over again.

Sally called it _The Hedgehog Echinda Cycle._ A bit on the nose, yes, but it was better than _The Bro Cycle._

She continued to study the Master Emerald, Sonic's laughter and Knuckles's enraged roars being heard in the distance.

After a few minutes, the Master Emerald began making the humming noise Knuckles described. It was like the notification alert on a typical cell phone, but it was deeper and constant.

"That's odd," the chipmunk murmered to herself. The Master Emerald began glowing a soft green.

Sally looked up at the sky to realize that the sun was setting. Stars were beginning to peak out and the sky was a beautiful misture of light blue and pink.

She heard voices... coming from the Master Emerald. She peered at the top to see a scene of a Mobian couple, the guy a grey fox and the girl a yellow hedgehog.

They were standing in an airport looking at each other as if the other were a bomb.

"Carter..." the girl pleaded quietly. "Please don't leave..."

"I have to, babe," the guy sighed regretfully. He cupped his lover's face into his hands. "You know that we need that money,"

"But the war is so dangerous!" the girl sobbed. Her tears spilled over, wettening her beau's hands. "You'll die,"

"And you and the baby will live,"

Sally's attention turned to the girl's round stomach. She was pregnant.

"B-but..." the girl's voice shook and was watery. The guy kissed her on the lips, whispered something inaudible, and turned away into the airport terminal.

The scene faded and the Master Emerald stopped glowing. Then...

A crack formed crisply onto the top.

Another on the side.

A third on from the back.

Sally stood, stunned as more and more jagged cracks formed.

She wasn't sure if she should stay with the Master Emerald or alert Knuckles.

She was about to do the latter when a loud crack filled the air and the gem shattered.

The air seemed to gain pressure as this happened. Sally's head felt like it would explode.

"AAH!" she screamed as green shards fell all around her. Her head still throbbed in agony. She felt like her skull was splitting and it showed no sign of stopping.

The pain became so much she fell forward and passed out...

Her vision came back, but it was blurry and uncomprehandable. Her ears rang and two voices were nearby, sounding like panicked echos.

Above her, two blurs, one blue and the other red were standing over her. She could feel the arm's of the blue supporting her into a semi sitting position.

"Is she gonna be okay?"

"I think so..."

"What the heck happened?"

"No idea. We'll ask her when she wakes up,"

"Until then, I'm gonna take her home,"

"It's a long ride back to Knothole on extreme gear. How about you two stay the night?"

"Where?"

"The Chaotix have a spare room at their place and there's plenty of space in the temple,"

"Sal gets the Chaotix. I heard there are badniks in the temple, which would be no problem to me,"

At that point, Sally stopped listening. She didn't think Sonic or Knuckles knew she was awake, so she focused on rest. It was all she could do.

She felt herself being picked up and carried at super sonic speed.


	2. In Someone Else's Shoe's

_Sally was standing in a shallow swamp. She looked over to see Vector swimming through the water, humming a happy tune.__Vector spotted her and smiled. "Hey, Sally! The water's great, isn't it?"__"It is," Sally agreed. "How'd I get here, anyway?"__"Duuuh," Vector stood on his feet. "Sonic carried you,"__"To a swamp?"__"No, to the-"__He was cut off by a deep rumbling from the forest. A badnik burst out of the brush.__"Aw, jeez," Vector sighed. He stretched and trodded out of the water to face the badnik. "Time to rumble,"__Unfortunately, the badnik was huge and had razor sharo pincers. Vector was outmatched and Sally knew it.__The badnik swipped at Vector, but just before things got gory..._

Sally shot up in bed and let out a small shriek. She could hear Vector screaming in the next room down the hall.

She looked over at the alarm clock. 3:45 am.

She was sweating and panting as if she had run a marathon. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The events of that day came back to her...

She decided to get some water to calm herself.

In the kitchen, Vector was standing in front of an open fridge. Despite the dream, he was not bleeding and his head was still attached to his shoulders. Sally sighed in relief.

"Vector?"

"Oh, you're up," he deadpanned. He pulled out a spoon and a carton of mint chocolate chip ice cream. "What's up?"

"Oh, just thirsty. How about you?"

Vector sat down at the wooden table. "Can't sleep. I had a weird dream,"

Sally sat down in front of him. "Tell me about it,"

"If you say so," he drawled. "I was swimming in a swamp, minding my business when I saw you standing in the water. I told you hi and all that jazz. Then this badnik came over and I tried to fight it. It was about tk chop my head off when I woke up,"

No... no... That was impossible! Surely she and Vector hadn't shared a dream. That just didn't happen. It was pseudo science!

Whatever that was, it probably was just a one time thing. Hopefully.


	3. I Did It

At eight o'clock that morning, Sally walked into the temple to see Sonic lying against a quartz wall, asleep.

As soon as she was within four feet of him, a stabbing pain pierced her skull...

_She was standing in a field in the mist of a storm. The fast and hard rain soaked her vest into her fur and water filled her boots.__In the distance, Sonic was chained to a tree at the tip of the hill. He thrashed about, panicked.__"_

_Help me! Please! Someone help me!"_

_Sally ran up the hill to him. Upon closer inspection, she saw that Sonic had a sign hung around his neck._

I_** did it**, the sign said._

_What did you do?" Sally asked casually as if she were asking about his day._

_It was me," Sonic said painfully. He clenched his teeth and bit his tongue. He looked as if he were being forced to speak._

_"I did it. I broke the-"_

Sally found herself back in the temple. Sonic stirred to life, looking around frantically and panting. His gaze settled on Sally and softened into something less panicked, more pained, but still relieved.

"Wh-what're you staring at?!" he asked quickly with a glare. His eyes darted left and right.

No... just no. Pseudo science, remember?

First Vector, then Sonic? Why was Sally having visions like this?!

"What did you dream about?" Sally asked as if she had just walked over.

"Nothing! I so didn't dream! I slept like a baby!"

"You don't have to yell, Sonic,"

"I'm not yelling! You're the one yelling!"

Sally leaned forward... and smacked Sonic across the face. "Get yourself together!"

Sonic seemed to calm down a little. He leaned back and closed his eyes. His breathing became more measured.

"Let's get back to Knothole," Sally suggested. "We need to investigate the Master Emerald shards. Knuckles gave me a few to study,"

"Good call," Sonic replied. He looked ready to throw up.

Back at the Chaotix's house, Knuckles was standing outside with an odd look on his face.

"Hi, Knuckles," Sally greeted.

"Sup," Sonic said, fighting back a snicker, probably due to their little conflict the night before.

Knuckles rolled his eyes at his blue companion and turned solely to Sally. "Something is _really _off,"

"What do you mean?"

"In the middle of the night last night, the shards began glowing." He passed her a zip lock bag containing shards. "Then they did it again twenty minutes ago,"

Twenty minutes ago... that was when Sally found Sonic asleep and had that vision.

Sally wasn't ready to make any official conclusions, but it was looking like she could see into people's dreams.


	4. Ultimate Spying

After a few days back in Knothole, waiting for the shard's test results to come in, Sally had found that she very well could see into other people's dreams.

It happened when Tails fell asleep on Freedom HQ's couch and Sally unexpectedly walked in.

_Tails was sitting in front of the ring pool. Nicole sat next to him._

Sally_ watched as the two laced hands and spoke in sweet whispers._

_"I love you, Tails," Nicole said dreamily.__"_

_I love you, too, Nicole," Tails replied just as smoothly._

_Sally's heart panged when she noticed how different Tails looked._ _For__ starters, he only had one tail. He was also much taller and older looking. He looked laid back and carefree, kind of like Sonic.__To Sally's suprise, Tails and Nicole exchanged a passionate kiss._ _But then Tails glanced in Sally's direction and his eyes widened._

"Sally?" someone yawned. Sally found herself back where she stood. Tails was looking at her curiously.

"Sorry, Tails," Sally said. "I didn't mean to wake you up,"

"It's alright. Oh, and you're drooling,"

Sally felt embarrassment fill her chest as she wiped away that said drool. "Oh,"

She went to her desk and began studying the Master Emerald shards under a mircoscope. Through the corner of her eye, she could see Tails looking at her with a puzzled expression. Did he remember seeing her in his dream?

No, Sally reminded herself. It wasn't a dream. It was a halluncination. The radiation from the Master Emerald must've been messing with her head.

"Sally?" Tails asked as he sat up on the couch.

"Yeah?" Sally responded.

"What triggers dreams?"

Sally took a moment to process this. So he _had _been dreaming about Nicole. "Well... a lot of things. Dreams can be flashbacks sometimes. Or representations of desires or fear. Fears are usually associated with nightmares," Sally thought about the vision (or nightmare) she had witnessed with Sonic on Angel Island. What could he have possibly done to trigger that? "Of course, sometimes dreams don't mean anything. Ever had a vivid random dream that made absolutely no sense?"

Tails nodded.

"Those are meaningless,"

"I think I get it,"

"Glad I could help,"

Sally turned back to her work. After a few minutes or so, she heard Tails get up and walk out.

Several hours passed before Sally got tired. Her hands felt numb and her mind was slippery and unfocused. She decided to go to the ring pool to take a break.

When she got there, however, she saw Bunnie in a lounch chair, asleep.

_Oh, great,_ Sally thought as her vision morphed.

_She was standing in the midst of gunfire and badniks every which way. A vehicle was speeding through the field. Metal Sonic was pursuing it.__Sally remembered this._

_This had happened back when she was robotizied..._

_She watched as her mechanical self battled Sonic. Mecha Sally was swipping her claws furiously, going for the kill. Sonic was using more evasive tactics since he didn't want to hurt her._

Guilt_ sliced through Sally's chest._

_Nearby__, Antoine was rushing behind Metal Sonic. Bunnie was too preoccupied in the battle to notice as her husband tackled Metal Sonic and pinned him to the ground. The vehicle got away safely._

_However__, there was an explosion where Antoine and Metal Sonic were wrestling. Metal Sonic had self destructed._

_Bunnie looked__ over just in time to see the ball of fire and let out a loud wail... "ANTOINE!"_

_She rushed toward him and hugged his limp body against hers. He didn't respond. He didn't even appear to have been breathing, although Sally knew that Antoine wouldn't die. At least he didn't in reality._

_Bunnie__ burried her face into Antoine's chest and cried in agony. The other Freedom Fighters saw this and went somber.__The badniks had all either been defeated or retreated. Mecha Sally was gone to recieve new orders from Eggman, Sally knew because she remembered.__Through her tears, Bunnie looked up slightly and met Sally's sorrowful gaze._

_Bunnie met it with one of shock.__"What... what the..."_

Bunnie didn't finish. Sally was snapped back to reality.

Bunnie stirred in her chair and lifted her eyelids.

"Nice nap?" Sally asked lightly. She mentally kicked herself.

"Ah believe so, Sally- girl," Bunnie replied with a wobbly smile. It was obviously a facade. "Whatcha doing out here in these parts?"

"Oh, just relaxing. You?"

"Same,"

They were silent for a moment before Bunnie spoke up. "Well, ole Antoine is probably looking for me," she got up much faster than required and began to speed walk away. "See ya tomorrow,"

Sally stood in stunned silence.

Three times. She had had these visions three. Freaking. Times.

The Master Emerald was a primary source of chaos energy, which was the very thing that made up all forms of energy on Mobius. It could be used for a variety of things. It could power machines. It could be used in warfare. It could even alter peoples minds and give them psychic abilities... such as Silver but in different varieties. Sonic had recieved his reknowned speed from chaos energy. Blaze had received her ability to control fire from chaos energy. In fact, _many _Mobians had gained unnatural abilities from this mysterious substance.

Chaos energy wasn't magic. It was useful, though.

And it was infused into Sally's brain.

By now, Sally could conclude that she could actually see other people's dreams.

It was the ultimate spying.


	5. Off To Spagonia

Sally hadn't told anyone of her ability. She figured if she did, they would either think she was lying or they would be paranoid that their subconscious privacy had been invaded. Well, that paranoia was valid, depending on who it was.

Sally had told Sonic and Tails that she needed to go to Spagonia to check on Professor Pickle. While, yes, she would be doing that, her main reason for the visit was to see if Pickle knew how to cure her... _problem._ After all, he did help Sonic when he was stuck with his wereform.

"Hey, Sal," Sonic asked. They were currently on the Tornado. Sonic was sitting in the seat behind her. "While we're in Spagonia, can we check out the shops and stuff?"

"Yeah, I want Spagonian cuisine!" Tails piped from the pilot seat.

"Guys, we've been through this," Sally huffed. They had pestered her for the past two hours. "It's an all business trip. No pit stops,"

"You know you want to," Sonic coaxed with that trademark smirk.

"Ergh... I'll think about it," Sally sighed. She began massaging her temples.

The three Mobians fell into silence after that.

Sally looked at the back of Sonic's head, thinking, wondering. What did that dream he had mean? What could he have possibly done? Stole a chillidog from Antoine? Almost wrecked the Tornado? Set a couch on fire (don't ask)?

He had done all three of those things in public, so why would he feel the need to admit it? Was there something Sally and the others didn't know about the blue hedgehog?

A little while later, the Tornado landed in a field just outside the city. Sonic, Sally, and Tails hopped put and were hit with the sound of music and the smell of cuisine emorating from downtown.

They walked through the city gates and through the bustling crowds of shopkeepers, tourists, and children. Eventually, they made it to the front steps of Spagonia U.

"You guys wait out here," Sally instructed. "I won't be long,"

"Aye, Sal," Sonic did a goofy salute. Tails grinned and followed suit.

"Sally," the old professor gushed, looking up from his desk. "It's been too long. How is Knothole holdings up?"

"Great," Sally said with a smile. She looked around to make sure nobody was listening and lowered her voice. "Um... I have something I need to talk to you about,"

"Go ahead,"

Sally gathered her courage and it all came out. She told Pickle about how the Master Emerald was broken, how she started seeing other people's dreams and what happened in those dreams.

"Ah," Pickle mused. "It appears you've been blessed with a rather unusual ability. I have, however, seen it once or twice before. As for the dreams, there is no _correct _way to interpret them,"

"So Sonic's nightmare... could have a variety of meanings?"

"Or none at all,"

Sally knew Sonic's nightmare had a meaning. Why else would he have been so flustered when he woke up?

"I know you are concerned," Pickle said. "If you truly believe something is going on with Sonic, I advise you to look through more dreams. If it's a recurring nightmare, or if there are similar dreams to it, then you should talk to him,"

"He doesn't know about the dream seeing thing," Sally admitted. "No one but me and you does,"

"And you seek a cure?"

I nod.

"There isn't one," he paused to let that sink in. "However, you can learn to control it so you may enter and exit dreams as you please"

"So I'm stuck a freak?" Sally pouted. She reisted the urge to stick out her lip.

"I'd hardly consider such an ability freakish," he stood up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a class to teach,"


	6. Dream Charting

For the next several weeks every night, Sally would crouch under Sonic's bedroom window. She found that she could only access his dreams when the window was open. Therefore, her powers were obstructed by physical barriers.

Every night, it was the same dream. Sonic would be chained to a tree with a sign saying _I did it _strung around his neck. He would be about to tell her what he had done only to be cut off as the dream ended.

To Sally's suprise, the lack of sleep hadn't affected her at all. She also found that when she did sleep that she wasn't having any dreams. That was odd since Sally's sleep usually had vivid dreams about her past or nightmares about Eggman. She had dreamed so much, that one could say she did so every other night.

But she wasn't dreaming anymore...

Tonight, Sonic had a different dream...

_He was covered in scars, bruises, and splotches of motor oil. He was so weak he could barely stand and there were tears in his eyes.__Walking toward him was a female silhouette. She was in front of a bright light like the sun, so her body looked like a shadow. Upon closer inspection, Sally realized it was... her?__This Sally was half robot half Mobian. Her head and torso were fur, flesh, and blood. Her chest, arms, and legs were metal. Despite being a mechanical monstrosity in Sally's opinion, she walked gracefully.__"I'm sorry..." Sonic muttered toward the cyborg Sally. "I'm so so sorry... I should've saved you..."__The cyborg didn't respond. She didn't blink. She didn't move. All she did was look toward the first Sally.__Sally felt her throat constrict. The dream reminded her of when she was robotizied.__"It wasn't your fault," she whispered.__The cyborg followed suit, copying Sally exactly. "It wasn't your fault,"__Sonic looked up and a small smile played his lips. The cyborg stepped closer and stroked his cheek. Sonic pulled her even closer and kissed her._The dream faded, leaving Sally with a blush betraying her face. She looked into the window.

Sonic was still in his bed, tangled in the sheets (Sally found from her research that he was a very restless sleeper) as always. However, he looked peaceful for once. Something told Sally it was because of her.


	7. Missing Pickle

Sally wasn't sure if she should have kept her ability a secret much longer. Even if she wanted to tell her friends, how would one say that their brain was retuned to allow them to see people's dreams?

She talked to Professor Pickle on the phone about her findings with Sonic's dream, and he suggested she look at more dreams.

So she did. Tails's dreams mostly consisted of him and Nicole in scenes of romance_._ Bunnie didn't dream much, but when she did it was either a nightmare about Antoine or relating to Southern cooking. Antoine dreamed about his teeth falling out, being naked in school even though it wasn't considered naked for male Mobians not to wear clothes. Rotor didn't dream at all. Amy dreamed about Sonic, obviously. Sonic, unfortunately reverted back to his usual dream with him chained to a tree with the sign around his neck.

She even snuck to Angel Isand and stealthily examined the dreams of her friends there. Knuckles had nightmares about the Master Emerald being stolen or destroyed. It was then that Sally realized how hard the emerald's lost had affected him. Vector dreamed about swimming and Cream's mother, Vanilla. Espio dreamed of leaping through bamboo trees. Charmy dreamed of honey. Mighty didn't dream. Neither did Ray. Julie Su had nightmares pertaining to war and destruction.

In all the nights Sally spent spying on her friends' minds, she didn't sleep at all. It still didn't affect her one bit, although she found she could still sleep if she tried.

In the manner of two months, Sally had composed a chart organizing the dreams into stats and conclusions. She sent her results to Professor Pickle but never heard back. She called multiple times but he never answered.

So, along with Sonic, Sally was back in Spagonia to check on Pickle.

"Can I come in this time?" Sonic requested.

"Nope," Sally said flatly. "Grown up business,"

"Hey, I'm older than you!"

"Then you won't throw a fit if you wait,"

Sally walked into the University alone and pulled aside a female student, a brunette with shorts and a green and white hoodie.

"You know where Professor Pickle is?" Sally asked carefully.

The girl shook her head. "No. He's missing. His class is being taught by a sub,"

Sally had a pit in her stomach, but she shoved it down. "How long has he been gone?"

"Oh, several weeks,"

It was four weeks ago that Sally sent in her study results. This wasn't good...

**Sorry for the short chapter, but I'm tired.**


	8. Concealed To Revealed

Sally sat by the bank of the Lake of Rings late at night. She held her head and continuously hissed in pain as her migraine persisted.

She started having migranes two days ago and they hadn't let up for a second. In her dream research, everything was normal, except Sonic's dreams were more somber for some reason...

She got up and walked to Sonic's house. She ducked under the window and was imersed into his dream...

_Sonic was in a jail cell. His arms and legs were shackled to the wall. He was covered in bruises and cuts. He was so skinny he looked like he was starving to death._

_"Angel Island..." the battered hedgehog muttered. "...it won't last much longer..."__"_

_"Huh?" Sally asked.__"_

_"The left over chaos energy is running out,"__"_

_"You think I didn't know that?"__"_

_"Like you think I don't know about what you're doing?"_

_Sally froze as the blood left her face. Sonic looked up at her and began laughing. Sally wasn't sure if it was an act, if Sonic was losing his mind, or if he was genuinely amused._

_"I don't understand," Sally said innocently._

_"I do," Sonic replied. "I know you've been in my dreams. I've seen your charts. I talked to Professor Pickle. I've seen you every night and remembered,"_

_No... he couldn't have known. Professor Pickle couldn't have ratted her out! Unless of course he felt the need. That man didn't take orders from anyone._

_Sally__ felt the dream fade... _as she snapped to attention in real life.

She was sweaty. Her migraine persisted more vigorously. Her heary hammered in her chest.

But mere words cannot describe the horror she felt as she heard Sonic's tired voice from inside...

"Well, Sal, I guess your cover's blown,"

Sally shrunk back into the bush, hoping Sonic would think she wasn't really there and that he was just crazy.

Sonic poked his head put the window and spotted her immediately. "Can we just talk for once?"

"I don't understand!" Sally insisted louder than necessary. "I was just... uh, star charting!"

"There aren't any stars tonight,"

"And I see that now, so I'm gonna take my leave,"

Sally got out of the bush, briars scratching her arms and legs, and began to walk away.

"We'll talk about this sooner or later," Sonic said.

"There's nothing to talk about," Sally lied over her shoulder. There was a lot to talk about...


	9. Stolen Knowledge

For the next few days, Sally avoided Sonic as much as possible. After he caught her red handed, she just couldn't quite face him and his questions yet. She had quit examining dreams temporarily out of fear of being caught again.

As far as she knew, Sonic had not told anyone else about her abilities, which Sally was thankful for. Still... she knew she would have to explain herself eventually.

One morning, Sally's ears flicked into attention as she heard her phone ring. She had not slept that night, or most of the nights before that, so she wasn't too ticked at the disturbance.

She picked her phone up off the nightstand and talked into the reciever. "Hello?"

"Is this Sally Acorn?" a male voice asked carefully.

"Yes it is. Is something wrong?"

"We know now what happened to Professor Pickle,"

Sally gulped. She hoped desperately that he had skipped town to Mexico with some pretty librarian. At least then he'd be safe.

"He was kidnapped by Dr Eggman," the voice finished. "His home was ransacked and trashed. There was a note from Eggman saying that if the university doesn't fork over the Gaia manuscripts, we'll never see him again,"

Sally felt her heart drop and the blood drain from her face. Not Pickle... not her favorite professor! "Why would he need the Gaia manuscripts? Last time he used them to free Dark Gaia, Sonic stopped him as always,"

"There's more in those manuscripts than just stories about Dark and Light Gaia," the voice explained. "I can't tell you what exactly since only Professor Pickle has read those parts, but I think Eggman is trying to fish information out of him,"

"I see," Sally sighed. "I'm coming to Spagonia to investigate. Thanks for keeping me in the loop,"

"No problem, and be careful!"

Sally hung up.

She got ready for the day and ate breakfast. Then she packed a backpack full of tolietries, emergency cash, energy bars, and clothes in case her trip took a while. On the bright side, she wouldn't have to have that talk with Sonic until she got back.

It was only six thirty in the morning on a Saturday, so most residents of Knothole were still asleep, which meant no one would immediately notice her departure.

She walked out onto the dirt road with her backpack slung on her back and her extreme board tucked under her arm pit. She was about to take off when she saw a blue blur in the distance. Sonic was taking a morning run.

Sally knew he spotted her when he skidded to a halt and jogged over to her.

"What are you doing up?" she asked as the blue hedgehog stopped several feet away.

"Couldn't sleep," Sonic confessed.

_Because you did something? _Sally thought to herself. "Ah,"

"My turn. What are _you _doing up?"

"I'm, uh..." Sally paused to think of a good excuse. "... camping,"

"Since when do you camp?" Sonic asked skeptically.

"Since now," Sally replied curtly with her hands on her hips.

"Will you quit lying already?"

"Will you quit assuming I'm lying?"

Sonic sighed. "Before you go wherever it is you're really going, please, _please _just answer some questions,"

"Later when we have more time," Sally lied. "I have to go,"

She set her board on the ground and took off into the air.


	10. Search For Nothing

When Sally got to Spagonia, she went straight to the university to ask around. Apparently, the day Professor Pickle went missing, one of Eggman's battleships was spotted flying in the direction of Mazuri... again.

So after a light lunch at one of the local restaurants, Sally took off again to Mazuri. By the time she got to the small African village, it was night, which meant Sally had free range to examine the villagers' dreams, although she didn't.

She spotted the village elder sitting on the stairs of a shop and approached the old man.

"Excuse me, sir," she said politely. "I was wondering if you've seen a man named Professor Pickle around, or perhaps a battleship,"

"Pickle, eh," he inquired in a raspy voice. "Was he kidnapped _again?_ If so, where's that little werehog boy?"

"He's busy," she lied pretending to be disappointed. "He asked me to find Professor Pickle for him. Have you seen him?"

"I saw this battleship going that way," he pointed to the distance. "Be careful. There were a lot of robots following it,"

Sally nods at him. "Thank you,"

She hopped onto her board and rode through the savannah until she reached a clearing where the menacing ship was parked. There were no robots, no security, no anything. It was like Eggman was expecting her...

Just as those thoughts went through her head, she felt something hard and metal hit her temple. Pain blossomed from the point of impact as she crumbled off her bkard onto the ground and faded into unconsciousness.


	11. A Rock And A Hard Place

Sally woke up with a searing pain in her temple. She found herself on the floor of a dark and empty metal room. The only light was one faint ray escaping through the cracks of a metal door. She heaved herself to a sitting position and placed a hand on her chest to attempt to ease her hammering heart.

Eggman had kidnapped her... But why? Well, for many reasons probably. He could hold her for ransom. He could fish information out of her. He could kill her and watch her friends unravel. Or perhaps he could extract her dream seeing ability out of her brain and use it for his own personal gain. But did he know about it? Sally hoped not.

The metal door opened and light filled the room, blinding Sally for a moment. When her vision readjusted, she saw Eggman smirking at her in the doorway.

"Where am I?" she demanded. In that moment, she hated herself for letting her voice sound so weak.

"Somewhere Sonic will never find you," the doctor said with demented happiness. "Unless, of course, you give it to me,"

"Give what to you?"

"You know good and well what!"

Sally feigned confusion. "The chaos emeralds? Sonic has them, not me,"

"Don't play dumb," Eggman seethed. "I know you can see into dreams. The old professor eventually caved and told me,"

_Can't he keep his mouth shut to anyone?! _Sally thought rather pettily. "He has... uh, Parkinson's. He doesn't know what he's talking about. He's delusional,"

"I performed a psychological examine. He is completely of sound mind so don't even try,"

"Okay, say Pickle was right," Sally mused with a condescending smirk. She leaned on the wall, hoping she didn't look as scared as she felt. "Let's say I can look into dreams. But how, Eggman, how would I possibly be able to transfer that ability to you?"

"Brain dissection, of course," Eggman stated as if it were obvious.

**Cliffhanger!**


	12. Last Minute

Next thing Sally knew, she was strapped to a metal surgery table and picking a tranquilizer dart out of her arm. How pleasant.

To her right was a screen set next to an IV that was attached to her right arm. The screen had a diagram of what Sally assumed was her brain, along with stats and numbers she couldn't even begin to understand.

To her left, Eggman was polishing his surgical tools and grinning evily. "Oh Sally, how you've fallen. Not only will you lose your life, but I will gain a great advantage over the Freedom Fighters. If I can view their dreams, I can view their weaknesses. I can view their future plans. I'll know everything they plan to do. Not to mention the tactical and emotional strife they'll deal with by losing you. Ah, this is just perfect!"

"They'll kill you," Sally spat. "Kill me and they'll give you the pain you give me tenfold,"

"For someone about to get your brain pried out of your head, you're pretty cocky,"

Sally said nothing. So this was it. She always wondered how she would meet her maker. Car crash? Assassination? Falling? Illness? Old age? It was morbid to ponder about this, but Sally knew all of her friends did the same thing. After all, she'd seen their dreams.

But in all the scenarios of death she had gone through, in her head and others', she had never come across the possibility of brain dissection.

To Sally's eternal horror, Eggman pulled out a giant saw and held it just inches above her head. She knew she was about to die, but she didn't expect it to be so painful!

"You're not even gonna give me anethesia?!" she gaped at the doctor.

"Oh, it won't hurt," Eggman replied curtly. "For me, anyway,"

Just as Sally's gory death was about to start, a loud bang pounded on the metal door, leaving a circular dent.

Then another.

Another...

Another...

"How'd he get past security?!" Eggman roared in fury to no one in particular. He set the saw to the side as a blue flash of light banged down the door and Sonic rushed into Eggman, fist first. He pinned the oversized villian against the wall.

"I'm gonna take that saw and chop off your-"

Sonic's enraged threat was interrupted by a low whisper coming from the surgery table. "Sonic..."

Sonic paused and looked at Sally, taking in her tired gaze, her sickly skinniness from the lack of food, and her tangled fur. He dropped Eggman on the ground, almost in a gaze. Eggman coughed and hacked as Sonic walked over to Sally, ripped off the straps, and swiftly hugged her.

"Nothing like a last minute rescue," Sally said, trying to sound light hearted. Her eyes widened as she felt water seap into her shoulder and Sonic's breath hitch. He was crying. "Um, Sonic?"

"Just give me a minute," the emotional hedgehog said. His voice was muffled. "I thought you were dead,"

"Dead?"

Sonic looked up at her and wiped the tears off his face. "Eggman told us he already killed you. Then we leaked some security footage of you and found out the truth,"

"Oh..."

Sally swung her legs over to table and wobbily got to her feet. She stumbled for a moment but Sonic steadied her.

"Uh, Sal?" he muttered.

"Yeah?"

With no warning whatsoever, Sonic leaned forward and kissed her. Sally felt fireworks light up her chest and her skin buzz where Sonic placed his hands on the small of her back. When he pulled away, Sally found herself wishing he would keep kissing her.

"Get a room!" Eggman wheezed from the corner.

Sonic sent him a bone chilling glare and turned back to Sally, suddenly blushing. "Uh... sorry. I don't know what came over me,"

"It's okay," Sally assured quicker and louder than she meant to. "Really. It is,"

Sonic swept Sally off the ground and the two teenagers sped out of the base at the speed of sound.

**Heh, this chapter was my favorite. Sonally forever! I don't care HOW popular or 'canon' Sonamy is (not bashing Sonamy shippers)! This ship rocks!**


	13. Hobby

Sonic and Sally ran from the base as long as possible until it started raining and they ducked under a Baobab tree for shelter.

Sally was wet, tired, and she never wanted to think of the concept of having her brain sawed out ever again. Sonic didn't look much better off. He was panting heavily and leaning back against the trunk of the tree.

"What time is it?" Sally asked. She took the corner of her vest and saueezed out rain water before doing so with her hair.

"Oh, six o'clock, probably," Sonic replied.

"And... Eggman told you I was dead?"

Sonic nodded. "I don't wanna think about that," he shut his eyes. Sally wondered if he was about to fall asleep. Was it a good idea to try to look at his dream? Would he catch her again?

She decided to take her chances...

_She was standing in front of the tree again and Sonic was chained to it with the "I did it," sign around his neck. Again._

_"Again, Sal?" Sonic asked curtly. He rolled his eyes in frustration. "You need a hobby,"_

_"And you need to give your subconscious a pep talk," Sally retorted with her hands on her hips._

_Sonic smirked, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Maybe so..."_

_"Can you just tell me," Sally pleaded. She tried to mentally plead (if that was possible when she was already inside Sonic's mind) with her eyes. "What did you do?"_

_"I don't wanna talk about it,"_

_"Sonic..."_

_Sonic seemed to wither under her gaze and sighed. "I broke the Master Emerald..."_

And just like that, the dream ended and Sonic and Sally were both back at the Baobab tree.

"There," Sonic said dejectedly. He looked away, as if preparing for the worst. "Now you know,"


	14. Back To Knothole

Sonic and Sally didn't speak much after Sonic's confession, but that didn't stop the obvious question swirling in Sally's mind.

How? How could he have possibly broke the Master Emerald? He wasn't even there when it happened.

The two teenagers wait in silence until Tails's plane lands next to the Baobab tree and the kitsune hops out of the cockpit.

"Sonic! Sally!" he said as he flew over. "I know where Professor Pickle is!"

"Where, bud?" Sonic asked, looking just as eager as Sally felt. The two of them stood up, Sonic popping his knuckles as he did so.

"Eggman shipped Pickle out to Shamar," Tails explained urgently. "According to satellite images collected by Nicole, he's having him build something... something huge,"

"Let's gather our forces back at Knothole before we do anything risky," Sally suggested, no, ordered with her posture straight and her hands on her hips.

"Okay, then let's get going," Tails said. His tails whipped as he flee back into the cokcpit and waited for Sonic and Sally.

As Sonic stepped forward to climb onto the wing, Sally grabbed his wrist and spun him in her direction. "Sonic, we need to talk about what you told me. Later, of course. But we will, mark my words,"

"Okay, then," Sonic sighed as Sally let his wrist go. He walked toward the plane, leaving Sally with a dropped jaw.

_Okay, then?!_ Really?! That's all he had to say?!

Sally shook her head in frustration as she climbed into the seat behind Tails. The ride was filled with animated conversation between Sally and Tails about her experiences in Eggman's captivity and the rescue mission. Sonic, to everyone's suprise, was mostly silent apart from occasionally chiming in with a smart remark.

When the Tornado landed in Knothole, it was seven thirty at night. Instead of getting rest or a bite to eat like advised, Sally followed Sonic and Tails straight to Freedom HQ. Inside, all of the Freedom Fighters are huddled around the main computer.

"Look who we busted out of the slammer," Sonic said with a smirk as he pointed his thumb at Sally. Everyone looked in Sally's direction.

Bunnie and Amy squealed in delight and wrapped Sally in a firm bearhug that knocked the air out of her lungs. Nicole clasped her hands together and grinned. Rotor ruffled Sally's hair and Antoine went in for a kiss, only to recieve a chilling glare from Sonic and a recoil from Sally.

"Okay, guys," Sally chuckled warmly. She managed to pry Bunnie and Amy off of her. "It's nice to see you guys too, but we have work to do," she turned to Rotor. "Have you kept track of Professor Pickle's location?"

"Yeah," Rotor replied. He typed some commands into the computer and a glowing map appeared on the giant screen. A red dot was mapped right over the Arabic city of Shamar. "See that dot? That's where he is. I don't think he'll be moving, since he's working on something,"

"But what?" Sonic blurted curiously.

"We don't know that yet," Nicole said. She stepped forward and gingerly placed a hand on the keyboard, as if feeling nostalgic. "The satellite images were grainy at best. We have to take a close up look ourselves. I advise that we destroy whatever it is before rescuing the professor,"

Sally leaned against the table and studied the map for a fleeting moment. "We'll do whatever the situation requires. If it's a roboticzer or something equally as dangerous, we'll have it as our first priority. For now, let's rest up. We'll leave tomorrow at noon,"


End file.
